What Lies Beneath
by ladyeclectic
Summary: Severus will again take up the role of spy, Draco has some decisions to make, a new DADA teacher keeps a suspicious eye on Snape, and a Muggle girl will try to make life a little more enjoyable. Set during their fifth year.
1. Prologue

__

SUMMARY: ... ... Nah, I'm not going to give a summary, since it's your basic plot: try to overthrow Voldemort. :) Takes place from the start of Harry's fifth year and, unlike the books, deals more with the adults and Draco than with Harry (he gets enough fanfic time, don't you think?)

DISCLAIMER: If you'd like to read the histories of some of the characters in this story, check out JK Rowling's "Harry Potter" series care of Scholastic books. I in no way own any of the characters in this story besides Haley and Aiylea/Leah, who are my creations. Cheers! 

* * *

  
**_Fifteen years ago_**

  
The screaming died away. Voldemort stood up slowly, wiping his hands on his robes as he glared at the muggle family strewn across the dark clearing. "I doubt," he hissed, his lip curling to form a sneer, "these animals will give us any more fun." 

Moans and harsh breathing coming from below him lent credence to the Dark Lord's words. Of the victims only the smallest, a little girl no older than six, seemed to still be aware and, mostly, unharmed. Her mother lay in a muddy, sodden heap at Voldemort's feet, her mind broken from the pain and hideous entertainments she had been forced to perform. Not too far away from them lay the father, his face contorted in death as it had been in his last moments - pure agony. 

"Severus, Augustus, finish off this rabble," Voldemort murmured, waving his hand airily as he turned away. Augustus McNair, a malicious grin creasing his features, stepped toward the mother and raised his wand. A sudden movement flickered before him, and the Death Eater raised an eyebrow as he saw the child suddenly between him and the mother. 

"Don't you hurt my mama!" the little girl yelled, glaring up at McNair. 

Annoyance flashed across the man's face and he lashed out, kicking the child hard beneath the ribs. It landed in a crumpled heap six feet away and Avery trained his wand again on the mother. "_Avada kedavra_!" he grit out, and with a green flash of light the mother ceased her moaning. 

"MAMA!" Unable to fully stand and in obvious pain, the little girl started crawling towards her mother and McNair, a satisfied gleam in his eyes, trained his wand on her. 

"No, Augustus," Voldemort whispered; at the words the Death Eater immediately backed away. Voldemort's gaze slanted to the black-haired wizard who had also stepped tentatively forward. "She is Severus' responsibility now." 

McNair glared at the ground, irritated at being denied the pleasure of killing but moved anyway, allowing Snape to come forward. 

"Finish her off Severus," Voldemort practically purred, enjoying the play of emotions on his servant's face. "After all, it would be cruel to let her live after all...this." The last was said mockingly, as the look of anticipation on his face belied the caring quality of the words. 

The dark haired man, known among his compatriots for not having a voracious appetite for death, stepped forward, raising his wand so that its tip was inches from the young girl's face. 

She had finally reached her mother, and seemed to not understand why the dead woman wouldn't wake up. Tears streaking her face, she looked up at Snape and the wand, fully aware of its power. A terrified confusion had filled her wide eyes as, for the first time, she faced death...and still unknowingly faced it inches away. Brown eyes stared up at Snape, desperately seeking an answer. 

Something in Snape's mind snapped, and his body rebelled. The hand holding the wand began to tremble, and though Snape's mouth opened as if to speak he couldn't seem to get any words out. He clenched his jaw and swallowed, then tried again, but his eyes stayed locked with those of the girl and again nothing came out. 

"Is there a problem Severus?" Voldemort asked, his voice utterly devoid of any emotion. 

Sweat broke out on Snape's brow as he struggled to appear normal. The problem was, unless he performed the death curse on the child there would be no normal, only direct disobedience on his part. _Avada kedavra, avada kedavra_, his mind chanted desperately, but his mouth refused to cooperate. _Her or me, her or me_, he tried to rationalize, but the eyes held him, awash with tears as she cradled her mother's head on her lap. _Her...or me._

"What will it be, Severus?" Voldemort's voice rang out, and cold fingers seemed to slither down Snape's spine. He knew what would be coming, no matter what his next move was; the delay in any type of response had been too long, something he knew must never happen with Voldemort. His gaze still on the child, he managed to get himself back in line...just barely. His eyes turned cold, and beneath him the little girl's eyes widened in real fear. "Perhaps," Snape answered smoothly, a thoughtful tone to his voice, "it would be worse to allow her to live." It was too late, he knew, to divert Voldemort; even in his own mind Snape knew the argument was pointless but it bought time to think. "Having to deal with the horror of her parents' humiliation and deaths would be much richer than simply killing her off..." 

"Which is what I ordered you to --," Voldemort started, but a loud _pop_ interrupted and Nevarre Bulstrode apparated suddenly beside Voldemort. 

The burly man immediately prostrated himself before his master, but before he could even be acknowledged he burst out, "Ministry aurors are on their way. They've managed to follow our trail and will be here any instant!" 

The information sent a shockwave through the assembled group. At this news many of the wizards in the clearing immediately disapparated, seemingly of the flawed mindset that what the ministry could do to them was worse than Voldemort's wrath. Those who knew Voldemort and his views on weakness stayed put, anxiously awaiting their Master's instruction. Voldemort seemed to take the news lightly, his gaze unaffected as he eyed the remaining witches and wizards in the dark meadow. Most wore anxious expressions, clearly like their compatriots wishing to be anywhere but there, yet their fear of Voldemort kept them from taking flight. 

"Good," the dark wizard said after a moment, his hard voice resonating. "You all know what to do." 

Popping noises immediately filled the air as _en masse_ the group of death eaters took flight. Even Voldemort, despite his apparent calmness after the news, didn't linger long at the site. "Finish this," he hissed to Snape, but the dark look he sent Snape an instant before disapparating promised punishment. 

Snape stayed an instant longer than the rest, his eyes still on the girl. When the wizards had begun disapparating her eyes had finally left his in bewilderment, but his wand remained steadily pointed at her. "_Obliviate_," he muttered, and didn't wait any longer to see the blank look overtake her face before disapparating to the pre-planned location. To put it off any longer would be giving his brain more time to convince him to flee, and that was something he wouldn't do. He had gotten himself into this, and he would see it through to the bitter, painful end. To put off the confrontation was cowardly and weak, and would ultimately make any punishment a great many times worse. And for Snape, such cowardice was NOT be tolerated. 

The minute he apparated he braced himself and reached out to a crumbling brick in the wall opposite him, the portkey to his final destination. He had cast the die, and he would pay the piper. It still didn't stop the cold feeling he got as the portkey jerked him to where the Dark Lord and his fellow supporters were. 

And, as promised, the instant Snape arrived punishment like nothing he had ever experienced began. 

* * *

Dumbledore registered the fact that he had a visitor when his first layer of shields was breached. The identity of the individual was confirmed by the second shield, but the Headmaster had no clue as to his midnight visitor's condition until he opened the door. 

Snape, who had practically been crawling along the walls to walk, collapsed through the doorway and into Dumbledore's astonished arms, his body twitching uncontrollably. Fawkes gave a startled warble and took flight, darting out of the room through a small window high in the tower wall. The Headmaster quickly shut the door, secured the bolts, and brought the younger man to rest on his couch. Magically conjuring up a wet towel, he began dabbing Snape's forehead gently, willing color to come back into those cheeks and the horror to leave the eyes. 

Gradually, over the course of several minutes, Snape's tremors subsided. Dumbledore, taking note of Fawkes' departure, laid a blanket over his former student's trembling body and said softly, "It's been a while, hasn't it Severus. I had almost given up ever seeing you again." 

Snape coughed, his eyes bulging as he struggled to keep a hold of himself until the fit subsided. "You...know me, Professor," he croaked finally, swallowing spasmatically. "I like to make...grand entrances." 

"Grand, yes," Dumbledore murmured, his lips tugging in the corners. "What, pray tell, brought about your return tonight?" 

A shudder passed through Snape, and between one blink and the next a tortured look of such magnitude it nearly broke Dumbledore's heart took root in the dark eyes. Disturbed at what could have nearly broken the sarcastic, introverted young man he had tought a handful of years prior, the Headmaster again dabbed Snape's forehead with the damp cloth. 

"Professor," Snape choked out, grabbing Dumbledore's hand very suddenly; the Headmaster didn't pull away but gave the hand a comforting squeeze. The small signal seemed to relax Snape slightly, although the tortured look never left his eyes. "Professor," he began again, swallowing, "there is something I need to tell you...something I need you to know about me..." 


	2. A New Teacher

  


For those of you who remember this as "THE STEEL ROSE", I'm sorry to say that I changed the title. I'm horrid with titles, I swear! *sigh* Still, please R&R, I'll try to get more out at a reasonable rate. :)   


On the more legalistic note, the canon characters in the Harry Potter-verse don't belong to me but to JK Rowling and Scholastic books. If, for whatever reason, you've never read the books (the next question being, why are you reading fanfic for a book you've never read?! Ah yes, we now have the movie, don't we?), I'd suggest doing it to get a grip on the characters here. Cheers! :-D   


* * *

  


CHAPTER ONE   


"May I please have your attention, students and faculty. Hello, am I on?" Albus Dumbledore lightly tapped his throat, causing thumping echoes to reverberate off the walls of the great hall and eliciting laughs from the students. "I hope you enjoyed your meals, they were prepared by some very talented little chefs." He caught Hermione's eye and winked, smiling at the embarassed flush that came over the fifth year's face. "Now that you are sorted and stuffed, a couple of words on new school rules.   


"Hogsmeade trips for third years and higher have been put under strict supervision. Details will be given to each house by the Prefects but due to the threats faced lately we have decided your safety is of more concern to us than your fun. That is not to say," he continued over the sudden babble of voices, "you will be followed everywhere or forced to curtail fun activities, but certain restrictions will be placed on you. Failure to abide by these rules could result in expellment.   


"First years, and again all students, the Dark Forest is off limits; please remember this. Quidditch trials will begin next week; contact Madam Hooch if you are interested in playing for your house teams.   


"I'd also like to introduce a new member to our faculty this year. Professor Haley Collins, on loan from America, will be taking over our Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year. Please give her a warm welcome."   


Applause rang through most of the hall as a red haired witch stood, giving a small wave before sitting back down.   


"And now," Albus said with much flourish, "let us all sing our beloved school's anthem!"   


Several teachers gave deep sighs while one or two surrepticiously cast temporary deafening charms on themselves as the students began to sing.   


* *   


"Well! That was certainly...interesting."   


Minerva McGonnagal smiled at the statement. "Quite a bit different than your own school days?"   


"Quite," Haley replied succinctly, although she grinned as she said it. "Is he always this unorthodox?"   


"Albus? You get used to him, or go crazy trying to understand how he thinks. Now, these stairs," Minerva continued, "lead up to the various teacher's quarters. You might get confused initially trying to find certain faculty rooms; several have misleading charms on the walkways to their quarters to deter students from finding them, and even then the setup itself can be difficult to navigate if you are new. Heads of the Houses, or the teachers to whom the House prefects and head students report to, live in the perspective House commons. Ah, and here I believe is your room."   


They stopped before a beautifully carved mahogany door at the top of a small staircase. McGonnagal handed Haley an old fashioned key, slightly rusty in the dim light and with the teeth in the curious shape of a great horned owl. It fit easily into the keyhole and the door began to swing open...only to be firmly slammed shut in their faces.   


"Ex-_cuse_ me mom, I'm like, changing in here!" a voice yelled through the wood, obviously miffed.   


Both teachers stared nonplussed at the door, then Haley flashed McGonnagal a pained smile that looked forced around the edges. "I see my daughter found the room all right," she said with a slight chuckle, a longsuffering look written across her face. "Thanks again Minerva."   


The older professor glanced from the door back to Haley, then gave the new professor a sympathetic look. "Goodnight then," she replied and headed toward Gryffindor tower.   


Haley waited until Minerva had disappeared before rounding on the door and pushing it open. The heavy door opened easily on well-oiled hinges to reveal a beautiful room complete with a four poster bed, heavy green curtains, and a floating chandalier about three feet from the top of her head. At that moment though, Haley had eyes only for her daughter, who was putting away her own clothes in BOTH the room's wardrobes. "Aiylea Marie Stanhope," she stated, choosing to admire her room at a later date, "what was that about? And in front of another teacher no less!" Haley rubbed her forehead with her fingers, glaring at her daughter. "I'm sure she's wondering how I can possibly teach students if I can't even keep my daughter in line."   


"Geez mom," Leah replied, rolling her eyes as she set a pair of bright green Doc Marten boots in the closet, "you don't have to pitch a fit. I told you, I was changing."   


"I'm your mother, young lady, there's nothing I haven't already seen." Leah gave Haley 'that look' before rolling her eyes again, and Haley's own eyes narrowed. "Oh no, don't tell me you've gotten another..."   


Leah snorted. "Yeah, as if I'd tell you after the last time," she replied. "Do you have any idea how expensive it is to get a tattoo, not to mention *painful*, only to have your mom erase it clean away with a simple spell? In answer," she added hastily as Haley fingered her wand, "I *don't* have another one... but I'd probably lie about it anyway."   


Haley's eyes crossed in exasperation as she let out another longsuffering sigh, but she put her wand away. "You're impossible, you know that?"   


Leah grinned. "But you love me anyway."   


* * *

  


The snapdragon portion had been all wrong again. He'd messed up on the potion for the third time straight. What in Merlin's universe was wrong with him?   


Disposing of the cauldron's contents in disgust, Snape sat down at his desk, picked up the quill, and drew a firm line through the snapdragon amount he had written. Staring for a moment at the recipe he was attempting to concoct, he curled his lip and threw the quill back to the desk.   


Focus, he thought angrily, arms folding as he began pacing the dungeons again. The mandrake root extract seemed the right choice to counteract the ill effects of the snapdragon flower, but he had apparently miscalculated and added too little of it too late...or perhaps too early. No, he corrected mentally, it had indeed been too late; he should have begun to stir in the mandrake root when the potion had begun turning magenta and was its most potent, not when it was well on its way to violet. A twenty second window, but it had cost him yet another batch of serum for the project he was working on. Stopping by his desk he again picked up the quill, writing down hasty notes before pacing some more. The first part of the potion had gone well; the tallow, willow sap, and cedra weed had come together well, and in theory would mix well with the second set of ingredients provided they were given in the right order, at the right instant...   


The creaking of his classroom door interrupted his musings and he whirled around, flashing an annoyed gaze at the new arrival. "What do you want?"   


A small frown furrowed Draco Malfoy's brow, the boy unused to the Head of his house snapping at him; he recovered quickly though, anger taking the frown's place. "I bring you more glad tidings," he replied sarcastically, hitching a hip against one of the long tables.   


Curbing his temper but not his sneer, Snape answered, "Being the messenger boy for your father again?" The boy's cheeks flushed, confirming Snape's suspicions; Draco didn't look too happy with the situation as he preferred to think of himself as being nobody's lackey. Not feeling the least bit sorry for the boy but nonetheless reining in his annoyance further Snape asked, "What message do you have to give this time?"   


Draco's jaw tensed, but he replied, "He just wants to thank you for the dubious entertainment and hopes to see more of you in the future."   


The message obviously didn't make much sense to the boy, but Snape understood exactly what Lucius referred to. A small shiver shot up his spine but he allowed himself no reaction in front of Lucius' son, merely nodding and with a wave dismissing the blond student.   


Draco refused to take the hint. "What are you making?" he asked, walking down the steps to the bottom of the room and studying the ingredients.   


Annoyed at the further interruption, Snape growled, "something too advanced for a mere fifth year to appreciate, Mr. Malfoy."   


Draco's gaze moved to the empty cauldrons at the edge of the table, evidence of Snape's mistakes with the previous batches and, to the potions professor, a mark of failure. Knowing the boy would probably have something to say about it Snape moved around the table until he was in Draco's line of vision. "Isn't it a little late for you to be out of your House, Mr. Malfoy?" he said in a silky voice, glaring at the student.   


Blue eyes moved between Snape and the ingredients as a calculating look came into the boy's eyes, and Snape wondered just what conclusion the young mind had come to. Draco shrugged nonchalantly however, his face a neutral mask, and turned back toward the door.   


Snape turned away and began pacing again, trusting the boy knew his way out. That he didn't hear the door open never occurred to Snape until he heard Malfoy's voice echo lightly through the dungeon. "Do you... need any help, Professor?"   


Snape turned and regarded the boy sharply: what was he playing at? The mask the blond child usually wore like a protective shield seemed to have slipped ever so slightly, revealing ... something Snape couldn't nail down. Yearning, genuine curiousity, hope? Taking notice of other things, the professor also saw that Draco's usual cronies Crabbe and Goyle were conspicuously missing - indeed, the boy seemed quite alone, and the trio was as close-knit as the accursed Potter gang. Nevertheless, Snape refused to allow himself to be fooled. That couldn't be a yearning look in Draco's eyes; such feelings required a heart, something absent from the whole of the Malfoy family. "No thank you Mr. Malfoy, I believe I can do perfectly well on my own."   


A hurt look flashed across Draco's face, swiftly disappearing between one instant and the next. The boy nodded and quickly fled the room, the dungeon door creaking shut behind him.   


Snape blinked once then gazed raptly at his desk edge, his lips threatening to twitch into a malicious smile. This time he knew what he had seen, and he wondered lazily just where Lucius Malfoy's son could have picked up emotional habits.   


  



	3. Dark Summons

_Wow, a much longer chapter! Forgive the way it ends, but I had to stop somewhere! It's much longer than the previous, more than doubling the original word count as it was. Please let me know if I should continue posting it. :-)_   


DISCLAIMER: As stated before, most of these characters belong to JK Rowling's "Harry Potter" series and Scholastic books. One character though, in an indirect fashion, belongs to CrystalStarGuardian here on FF.net. She requested an insert, so I'm giving it to her. :) Cheers!   


  


* * *

  


  
CHAPTER TWO  


  
Two days after their arrival students once again filed into the DADA classroom, only to find their teacher noticeably absent. There was a general murmuring as to where the professor was but they still took their seats - Slytherins on the left side, Gryffindors on the right.   


The door slammed open just as the bell rang and a very harried Professor Collins walked into the room, arms full of scrolls and other rolls of parchment. She looked surprised to see the students, as if she hadn't expected them to actually be there. "Forgive the delay," she said, dumping the scrolls onto the desk unceremoniously, "I had a run-in with the ghost you all call Peeves." _And_ I _call a pain in the arse_, she thought privately, still annoyed. "I plan on being a little more timely arriving to class in the future however."   


There was whispering coming from the Slytherin side of the classroom, and Haley's eyes traveled to the Slytherin side of the room. A group of students huddled around a section of table, some gasping at whatever was being shown. Crossing her arms and tapping her foot in annoyance, Professor Collins had to clear her voice twice before most of the Slytherins got the hint and returned to their seats. Draco, no longer blocked from the teacher's view, quickly hid whatever it was he'd had on display.   


Aware all eyes were on her, Professor Collins walked calmly up to Draco and held out her hand. "Whatever it is, give it here," she stated firmly.   


"What are you talking about, I don't have anything," Draco replied, smirking.   


"Five points from Slytherin for lying," Haley replied, her voice neutral; on the Slytherin side angry whispers sounded but she kept her eyes on Draco. "Now you will give whatever is in your hand here or you will get detention as well as another twenty points removed from Slytherin, and I will take it anyway. Don't make me ask you again."   


Draco scowled, but brought his hand out from behind his chair. "Here you go then, Professor," he stated with a sudden grin, and emptied the contents of his hand into hers.   


Several girls, and no few boys for that matter, gave shouts and screams of fear as a huge tarantula made its public debut, but Professor Collins remained unmoved. Draco's grin slipped several notches as Haley brought the spider up close to her face, ignoring the fact it looked ready to jump on her at any moment. "Very nice specimen," she replied, turning her hand to see all sides of the huge tarantula. "A little larger than normal, quite brilliant markings on her legs and abdomen as well." Taking out her wand she deftly pointed it at the large arachnid. "_Petrificus totalus_."   


The tarantula immediately stopped bobbing, frozen solid by the spell. Haley lobbed it into the air once, then smiled at Draco. "Thank you very much for such a wonderful paperweight."   


Leaving the blond Slytherin fuming, Professor Collins returned to the front of class, transferred the petrified tarantula to her desk atop the scrolls, and whirled around to face the students. "So," she stated brightly, clapping her hands. "I took the time to learn all the names and faces of students I would be having this term, but I guess I'd better introduce myself. My name's Professor Collins, and I'm to be your newest in a string of Defense teachers. As I'm sure you've heard or guessed, I am an American, originally from the west coast state of California but lately from the New York area. I was an Auror for nine years then worked for the American Ministry as an Unspeakable for four." That news, as she expected, caused a few mururs. "The past couple of years I've lived in the Muggle world, getting reaquainted with the ways of our unwitting allies."   


Derisive snorts came from the Slytherin side, and Haley noticed several students whispering amongst each other with sneers written on their faces. Malfoy was whispering to Goyle, and Haley, wishing to make a point, surreptitiously pointed her wand at him. "_Sonorus_," she whispered.   


"... live with all those dirty muggles and mudbloods," the boy finished with a sneer until he realized what he'd just said had been magically amplified, and still echoed faintly in the room.   


The words caused an immediate uproar amongst the Gryffindors, some of whom leaped up from their chairs and attempted to get at Draco. One redhead in particular Haley recognized as Ronald Weasley seemed especially adamant about escaping his friends' hold.   


Determined to get her class back, Haley stepped between the two sides and barked, "All students are to get back into their seats. NOW."   


There was no mistaking the authority in that voice and the class quickly settled down. Glares continued to be sent across the room from both sides, however.   


"As for you, Mr. Malfoy," she continued, turning her gaze to the young Slytherin, "ten points will again be taken from Slytherin because of your mouth, which I would advise you to keep firmly shut until the end of class."   


Haley turned back to the front of the class ready to begin again when she, and everyone else in the room, heard Malfoy mutter, "Bitch."   


A few gasps sounded across the class as all eyes turned to the professor, fearful of what she would do. Even Draco looked stunned at his own mistake, and crouched low into his seat as Haley slowly turned toward him.   


"Twenty-five points from Slytherin and a detention for that little remark," she stated coldly, looking down at the blond boy. "Any more words and I will reverse the spell so you _won't_ talk for the next month, do I make myself clear?"   


Draco quickly nodded, and with a last piercing look at the boy Professor Collins stalked back to the front of the room. "There will be no secrets in this classroom while I am teaching," Haley announced suddenly, again capturing the class' attention. "Many will think that to be unfair or a breach of privacy for you students; some may try to logically argue that it is unrealistic, as the real world isn't like that. Well, I have lived in the real world, ladies and gentlemen; I've seen the devastation brought about by important yet undisclosed secrets. Here, I will be utterly frank with you, and I expect the same in return. If you wish to say something or ask me anything, as long as it pertains to the subject I will acknowledge and answer it.   


"Now, it is my job this year to teach you about how to defend yourself from Dark magic. I see that you have already gone over how to deal with Dark creatures as well as a number of curses you're likely to encounter. I will be adding a bit to that myself, as well as going over the history of Dark magic in our world."   


Several groans came from all around the room and she heard Professor Binns' name mentioned more and a few times, but the murmuring was short lived under her quelling stare.   


"Now, everyone get your quill and paper out - you're going to need it."   


* * *   


When the bell rang many of the students looked eager to escape the class. Haley didn't assign any homework, as it was the first day and she remembered she'd hated it when teachers did that, but before everyone could leave she called Draco Malfoy back up to her desk.   


Waiting for the entire class to leave Haley took time to study the blond student before her. He had an impatient look on his face and clearly wanted out of the room. He met her eyes boldly, and disrespectful or not she had to give him credit for bravery. Pulling out her wand and turning it on the boy, who looked suddenly apprehensive, she intoned, "_Finite incantatum_."   


Relief flooded Draco's features as he cleared his throat without shaking the rafters, but it was soon replaced by indignation and anger. "When my father hears of this," he started, his lip again curling into a sneer, and any respect Haley might had felt for the boy instantly dried up.   


"How convenient it must be," she interrupted sharply," to have so powerful a father." Draco opened his mouth but Haley drowned him out, "And how weak it makes you look when you hide behind his coattails and use him as an excuse to be a spoiled brat."   


Draco started at the words and his features contorted in anger, but Haley continued. "In the real world, the one that you will be entering in three years, you will find that few people care who your father is or was. Out there, you are judged on your own merits; you gain respect by your actions, not based on who your daddy is. To hide behind him is childish, even at your age." She gazed at his mutinous expression and sighed, wondering if she was going about this the right way.   


"I wanted to apologize for making an example of you during class - I meant nothing personal by singling you out. The detention still stands, however, and will take place two days from now after classes. Do I make myself clear?"   


Silence reigned for a moment. "Can I go?" Draco said, his expression still cold and angry.   


Haley stared at Draco for a second, searching his eyes for any sign that her words got through but saw nothing but anger. Stifling a resigned sigh, she nodded and watched the boy stalk out of the room, rejoining his friends waiting outside the door. _And I used to be so good at this_, she mused, disappointed she hadn't been able to get through to the boy.   


* * *

  


In the middle of potions, Severus Snape felt the sudden pain of the Dark Lord's summons.   


Sweat broke out over Snape's brow, but he clapped his hands once very loudly and had his class' nervous attention. "Class is cancelled for the day. Go."   


Stunned looks swept through the room, everyone staring at Snape as if he had just turned into one of Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts. Severus' lip curled in anger and he snapped, "What are you all waiting for?"   


As if a bomb had gone off the students scrambled up and out of their seats, pushing past each other to get out before Snape changed his mind. To anyone else it might have been comical but to Professor Snape it was utterly ridiculous, seeing the children flee his class so haphazardly. Given, they were first years and not Slytherins, but to have so little dignity at so young an age... Snape rolled his eyes in disgust.   


There wasn't a moment to lose. Not in nearly fourteen years had he been summoned at such an inopportune time, but for Voldemort excuses for tardiness was tolerated less than the tardiness itself. Ordering the last child, who had stayed behind to clean up her cauldron (_the next Hermione Granger_, Snape thought dryly), to leave, he waited for the dungeon door to close before stepping into his office and shutting the door, weaving tight privacy spells. He then triggered the mechanism for the passage behind his files and swept inside, lighting an ancient fireplace at the end of the compartment - the only other fireplace in the school connected to the floo network. Quickly grabbing a small bag just inside his robes, he approached the fireplace and threw the powder into the fire.   


"Dunston Manor," he stated, and stepped briskly into the suddenly roaring flames. Immediately he began to spin as he connected to the network and waited impatiently until he slowed, then stepped confidently out of the fireplace and into the manor. Dunston manor was the home of a dubious friend named Preston Dunston III, another man who appreciated the pleasure of working with potions. Unfortunately, he was also as nutty as they came so Snape stayed clear of him as much as possible. According to Snape's sources though the man had been sent by the Ministry to Brazil, so Snape felt safe using his fireplace.   


Concentrating on Voldemort and unconsciously rubbing his forearm, Snape disapparated...   


...and apparated right in the middle of an old fashioned torture session.   


Immediately before him a man was suspended four feet above the ground, his body stretched in ways no human body, wizard or muggle, was ever meant to be stretched. Wide eyes stared at the ground below and the mouth was open in a grotesque parody of a scream even as laughter came from behind him.   


"Oh stop it Bulstrode," McNair's voice rose above the laughter, "you're ruining the fun." The death eater waved his wand at the victim's face and screams suddenly filled the room as whatever silence charm that had been cast on the victim was banished.   


Nevarre Bulstrode merely shrugged. "His voice was getting on my nerves."   


Snape's stomach curdled but he moved forward, stepping around the group into the larger room behind them. He recognized it instantly, having been here numerous times before: Malfoy manor. Or, more specifically, the basement of the Malfoy home. It had been a number of years since Snape had been there, but little seemed to have changed. The room's theme, while the decoration varied slightly, remained the same: torture, and pain. In one corner sat a guillotine; in another a rack. Farther down the hall next to the stairs stood a coffin-shaped box, inside of which Snape could make out thick spikes. That many of these artifacts were Muggle-made didn't, for once, seem to bother Lucius; it was what they represented that he valued.   


The intermittent pops of apparating people continued to fill the air, but a dull _crack_ and an answering shriek sounded from the victim behind Snape, and he began babbling in a guttural language punctuated by sobs. Severus cocked his head suddenly, turning to look at the poor man now being spun in the air by his merry torturers.   


It was Igor Karkaroff. The man, somehow, had finally been found.   


A sudden hush fell over the room and a chill ran through Snape's backbone. He turned back and saw Voldemort decending the stairs, followed closely by Lucius Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew. Lucius wore a familiar smirk, clearly enjoying the show, while Peter merely cowered in the shadow of Voldemort.   


It had come as a bit of a nasty shock to find Peter Pettigrew, aka 'Wormtail', to indeed be alive. The very idea negated, for Snape, a truth he had once revelled in: that Sirius Black was guiltily rotting in Azkaban for murder. Snape had not known the little man to be loyal to Voldemort; indeed, he would not have believed the Dark Lord would allow anyone as pathetic as Wormtail to take the mark. Sirius Black, certainly, but not the whiny Peter Pettigrew. The truth had redeemed Black for the crimes, something Snape resented above all else.   


The apparating pops were becoming less frequent now as the Death Eaters began to move toward Voldemort. They gathered in a semicircle at the base of the steps, McNair and his pack leaving Karkaroff suspended in the air and still spinning lazily. The man had ceased his cries but whether that was due to another spell, unconsciousness, or death Snape couldn't tell.   


Voldemort surveyed the group before him, and his colorless lips stretched into a slow smile. "It seems," he began smoothly, his low voice carrying, "that there are more here than at my last summons. I wonder why that is."   


If possible the group became even more still, as if any movement might single them out under the Dark lord's gaze. Voldemort's eyes swept over the congregation, none of whom, even Snape, would meet his eyes. "Could it be," he stated, coming down a few more steps on the staircase, "that you were afraid?" The last was hissed, and a shudder went through the group. "Might you have forgotten," Voldemort continued, his voice again soft, "the oath you took to me? Have you, perhaps, forgotten what I promised you?"   


"We have not, my lord," a voice rang out, and Snape saw Pellerin, a former Slytherin with a daughter even now in Hogwarts, step forward. The man had always had more balls than brains in Snape's opinion, but still Voldemort graced him with a smile.   


It was not a nice smile. "Ah, Angus Pellerin. You too have moved up in the ministry during my absence. Tell me, how is your lovely wife these days?"   


"She was killed in a tragic accident several years back," Pellerin answered, his face decidedly neutral.   


"Truly," Voldemort murmured, eying Angus with a shrewd gleam in his eye. "And your daughter?"   


From his position Snape noticed a tiny twitch at the corner of Pellerin's eye, but the man still smiled and stated proudly, "She is eager to enter your service, my lord."   


"Is she now?" Voldemort's voice held a mocking quality and Angus' smile fell quickly away, but Voldemort's gaze left the man in subtle dismissal.   


"Thirteen years ago," the Dark lord began, "we were a stone's throw from our goal. We had the world at our fingertips, the Ministry on the run, those hunting us being dealt with. The world was ours for the taking. Until, one mistake was made. _One mistake_," he hissed, his eyes suddenly blazing, "that cost us everything. One small aspect overlooked..."   


Many of the Death Eaters quelled at the site of Voldemort's wrath, and Snape couldn't blame them. To acquire Voldemort's ire had never been pretty - the Dark wizard had ingenius ways to inflict pain and humiliation, not all of which involved the Unforgivables - but in this instance it didn't seem focussed on any person in particular. Still, the wind had been knocked out of even Lucius Malfoy's sails: the man no longer seemed so proud of his position next to Voldemort as it made him a more accessible target.   


The Dark lord was silent for a moment, and when he began his voice was again calm. "As many might have noticed I have located Igor Karkaroff." A few heads swivelled around to eye the suspended man but most never took their gaze off Voldemort. "He has, in spite of turning his cowardly back on us and fleeing, proved a veritable fount of useful information. For instance, he has seen fit to inform me that there is a spy among us."   


Snape couldn't stop the sudden shudder that coursed through his body, but he was not alone in reaction; several other Death Eaters started, a few gasping in shock. Lucius Malfoy, his face now a blank mask, had definitely albeit subtly shifted away from Voldemort.   


"Yes, he even named a few names," Voldemort continued. "But then again," he added, another cruel smile crossing his features, "he has always been good at naming names."   


There were a few titters from the audience, most of whom weren't sure just how to react. Many had the same thoughts as Snape in that moment: had _their_ names been said, and would Voldemort believe it. Snape, an expert at keeping his emotions from getting away from him, kept his own desperate reaction skillfully hidden but many had their fears written plainly across their faces.   


"It was most entertaining extracting the information from the turncoat," Voldemort added nonchalantly, as if discussing the weather; somehow, that tone made him seem even more dangerous than his anger had. "He was quite willing to talk, of course, but we couldn't make it too easy." He raised his hand, and the crowd below him parted quickly as the broken body of Karkaroff floated face-down from across the room.   


"Unfortunately," Voldemort said as Karkaroff stopped before him, "I don't believe I will be accepting his plea for forgiveness. After all, he forgot his oath to me, and that is not to be tolerated." He laid his hands out in front of him, palms up like a book, then clapped them shut...and Karkaroff's body bent backwards, his backbone giving a dull crack as it snapped. The man's eyes opened and he gave a small shriek, then began convulsing in midair.   


Several in the crowd stepped away from Karkaroff, but mostly in order not to be hit by the man's flailing arms. Many had disgusted looks on their faces although, Snape could see, McNair's expression was rapturous. Considering the man had, at the height of Voldemort's power, been on par in his appetite for torture and murder with the Dark lord himself Snape wasn't the least bit surprised.   


"My children," Voldemort murmured, drawing attention back to himself. "All those years ago, I promised you power and glory the likes of which you've never known. And now once again I offer you, my most faithful, that option again." His voice had taken on a hypnotic quality, soothing while at the same time having infinite authority. "There will be no mistakes this time, no loose ends that can unravel us. Your oath binds you to me, and in turn I will give you the power that I promised over the pathetic weaklings that should have been wiped away millenia ago."   


Rapt faces stared back at Voldemort, many whose eyes were filled with worshipful adulation, but Snape's gaze stayed on Karkaroff. With a gurgling shudder the former Death Eater expelled his last breath, and Snape couldn't find it in himself to mourn the man's loss.   


*   


Apparating back to the Manor, his stop before going back to Hogwarts, Snape took a moment and sat down before the fire to think about his return strategy. His presence would undoubtedly have been missed, as well as having the students talk amongst themselves about his erratic behavior. The latter he could deal with, he'd been doing it for more than eleven years so far since he began teaching; students were, for the most part, a predictable lot and they already thought him Dark anyway. No, his problems would lie with the teachers not in on his little secret...   


"It's been a long time, Severus," a low voice sounded behind him.   


Snape's heart nearly leaped from his chest as he bolted to his feet, whirling around to face his visitor. "My lord," he stated, his voice holding a shaky quality he didn't welcome at that moment, "I had not heard you come."   


"That, was the intent," Voldemort replied casually, looking around the room. "Such...fitting decorations, Severus," the Dark wizard stated, looking at the many cauldrons, potion books, and ingredients which lined the room's bookshelves and walls, "but this manor cannot be yours. Not on a teacher's salary, and you wouldn't be so very...direct, with your decorating."   


"How may I be of service to you, my lord?" Snape asked, fully recovered from the shock and giving a small bow.   


Voldemort snorted. "So very formal now Severus, when it once was your candor I so admired." He gave Snape a piercing look, and the younger man had great difficulty not to flinch. "Karkaroff made mention of you," Voldemort stated smoothly. "Several times, in fact."   


Only sheer force of will kept Snape from swallowing and allowed his voice to remain steady. "Indeed."   


"What he had to say was quite incriminating," Voldemort continued casually, running a finger along the rim of a nearby cauldron. "But of course, I knew that information to be false; you would never be a _warlock_."   


Color suffused Snape's normally pale face as he vehemently replied, "I am not an oathbreaker!"   


"Indeed," Voldemort replied, echoing Snape's earlier response. He studied Snape a moment as the man again collected himself. "You have matured, Severus," the Dark wizard said at last, a ghost of a smile flitting across his lips. "A blessing, and a curse."   


"As I remember it," Snape dared to say, "you often wished I did not have such a mind of my own."   


Voldemort chuckled. "Perhaps you haven't matured as much as I'd thought," he said smoothly and Snape stiffened. Voldemort's face seemed lost in thought, the wizard's eyes flickering to the fire. "But I never wished that, not quite. The lot of them," he said suddenly, a sneer curling his lip, "simply joined me for the carnage, for the pleasure of being ablt to do the 'grunt work.' Few," and again his eyes moved back to Snape, "truly wanted the power, the sense of revenge I offered. Very few intellectuals, who understood truly the why of it, came to my side."   


Quite suddenly, Voldemort vanished.   


Snape's head snapped around, knowing the Dark wizard was not gone. There had been no disapparating _pop_, which meant Voldemort had simply gone invisible. Moving around to the back of the chair, Snape felt a terrible cold slither through his body as something touched his face. He leaped backwards only to be blocked by the chair as Voldemort appeared less than a foot away.   


"Ah, Severus," the Dark wizard murmured, his hand still stroking Snape's face, "you were my most ardent supporter." Thin red eyes met wide black ones belonging to a stunned Snape. "I see that has changed over the years as well," Voldemort said softly, but there was a look of anticipation in the wizard's eyes as he disapparated, leaving Snape alone again.   


The potions professor made his way unsteadily around the chair again, collapsing backwards into it. He ran a shaky hand over his face and clenched his jaw, willing the tremors wracking his body to stop.   


  


  
Twenty minutes later he exited the dungeons of Hogwarts and started up the staircases to Dumbledore's office. He knew he had to talk to the Headmaster about what had happened, but his mind wouldn't stop going over what Voldemort had said. _You_ are _a warlock_, Snape's mind kept repeating. _It's useless to deny it, when even now you're going up to give a spy's report. Oathbreaker_.   


Snape snarled silently at the thought as he barged through one of the doors, to find himself face-to-face with the last witch he wanted to run into.   


"Severus Snape," Haley said coldly, placing herself deliberately in Snape's way. "At last we meet."   


"Charmed," Snape muttered darkly, "now let me..."   


"What I'd like to know," Haley continued blithely, ignoring his statement and moving again when Snape tried to go around, "is where you've been for the past two hours. Certainly not in this castle, isn't that right _Professor_?"   


* * *

  


Now, and to the thanks:  


_iameviltara_ - Thanks for the warning, I'm trying (desperately) not to fall into that connundrum  
_Jade_ - *evil grin* wait until later chapters >)  
_Demeter_ - well, I'm not sure if this is going to be Snape/Draco as much as having the two play bigger roles than in the books. But worry not, they WILL both be here! :)  



	4. A Muggle in Hogwarts

_I'm wondering, would anyone be willing to be a beta for this story? I don't usually do betas because, well, I'm not sure where to find them but would like one on this fic. If you're interested please contact me at ladyeclectic@hotmail.com. :D  
_

DISCLAIMER: The Harry Potter-verse belongs to JKRowling. Basically, I'm stealing (but as I'm not getting paid I don't think I'm in too much legal trouble). Star Pellerin belongs to CrystalStarGuardian here on FF.net; if you like slash then I guarentee you'll like her works. :) Anyway, on with the show!!! :-)  


  


* * *

  


CHAPTER THREE   


"Class, may I have your attention?" Professor Shaw called, and heads swiveled around from their muggle artifacts to focus on her. "I would like to introduce Ms. Aiylea Stanhope, Hogwarts' resident Muggle expert. If you all could please put away the visual aides and give her your attention."   


As the various items the class was studying (which included, to Leah's amusement, an old fashioned telephone, a computer mouse, a remote control to who knew what, and something that looked curiously like a bike peddle) were put back into the chests at the end of each long table, Leah joined the professor at the front of the room. She had difficulties keeping a straight face at some of the things she saw the students putting away, and couldn't keep an amused snort in when she saw several carefully fingering a microphone headset as if it might explode in their hands.   


Professor Shaw gave her a strange look but addressed the class. "Ms. Stanhope is the daughter of Professor Collins, the new Defense teacher, and has consented to helping out with our Muggle studies class this year. She has lived in the Muggle world for a number of years and has a good grasp on several concepts."   


That's an understatement if ever there was one, Leah thought. She figured she knew more about muggles than even the Professor herself did if the various 'visual aides' were any clue.   


"Now if you could please give her your attention ... I will turn you over to her hands." The last part said, Professor Shaw stepped back and gave Leah the spotlight.   


Butterflies erupted throughout the younger woman's stomach as all eyes turned to her. What had seemed so simple mere moments ago suddenly seemed much more complicated and, she had to admit, a bit daunting. Still, she stepped forward, giving the professor a small nod and addressed the class. "It's a pleasure to be here, and I look forward to meeting you all. As Professor Shaw told you, my name is Leah, and since I'm not going to be a real teacher you can just call me by my first name. Now, a bit about me and my 'experience'." As she said the last word she drew her hands up and bobbed both the index and middle fingers in the nearly universal quote sigh; the gesture only garnered her strange looks from several in the class and she grinned.   


"As you heard I'm also Professor Collins' daughter. I was raised in California, over in the States, and attended Muggle schools from the time I was little until just last year when I graduated college. If that doesn't already give it away then I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm a Muggle."   


Surprised murmuring broke out across the room but Leah just nodded. Several hands went up and she pointed to a boy near the front. "But if you're a Muggle," he exclaimed, only to be interrupted by Professor Shaw.   


"Mister Finch-Fletchly, you will introduce yourself then ask your question," the professor admonished.   


"Okay," the boy replied, still in an eager tone, "my name is Justin Finch-Fletchly and if you're really a Muggle how did you get into Hogwarts? I mean, isn't it protected by spells and such to keep your kind out?"   


"Jus-tin," Professor Shaw exclaimed, throwing a glance at Leah," you will not be so disrespectful...!"   


"It's alright Professor, I'm used to it," Leah said, giving the teacher a small smile to show it truly was all right. "I grew up in the wizard word, after all."   


"But really," the professor muttered darkly, "your kind..."   


"He does have a point though," Leah countered logically, turning her attention back to Justin, who looked a little pink around the ears. "My mother, when she was offered the post, requested that I be allowed to stay here as well. Okay, if you know my mother she's rather intense at times so it would be better to say she demanded I stay here if she was going to. Dumbledore agreed, and here I am. So in answer, generally my kind can't see this castle let alone come into it, but I've had several charms cast that allow me to be able to do both."   


Justin looked thoroughly abashed at his words but hands went up from all over the room. Leah pointed at another girl with a blue scarf on, who stood up to ask her question. "Morgan Dunning, ma'am. What's the Muggle world like?"   


Leah gave a startled laugh. "Quite an ambiguous question, Miss Dunning. What's it like..." Leah pondered the question a moment then shrugged. "It's a lot like the wizarding world, only much different. Instead of magic, we have technology. In place of broomsticks we have cars. I have got to show you mine sometime though, she is one serious beaut!" Leah grinned sheepishly as her statement garnered dubious looks from the students. "Anyway, back on subject: instead of floo powder we have airplanes to take us the long distances quickly. Instead of owls we have a Post Office to deliver mail, or use a telephone to talk across thousands of miles instead of a fireplace. We do everything the hard way because we have to, whether it's tying our shoes, braving rush hour traffic to get to work, or having to slave for hours cleaning house for guests." Leah pointed to another girl across the room.   


"Anna Grieves. But don't you miss magic?"   


"You can't miss what you've never had," Leah replied with a gentle smile. "Still...see, I was brought up in both the Muggle and Wizard worlds. I've seen both sides of the coin - been rather forced to, really. As such I've seen it from all angles, which, let me tell you, made for a very screwed-up childhood. Imagine watching kids ride their broomsticks while visiting one set of friends or family, then not being able to talk about it with another group of friends because they'd think you were a freak. No," and here Leah's expression grew introspective, "sometimes I really wished I had my mother's powers, able to do just about anything with a simple wave of my wand...but there's also a sense of accomplishment in doing it yourself, you know? Like building something on your own, no matter what the finished product is like, and knowing you did that, that it was you who made the popsicle-stick house look more like the leaning tower of Pisa and superglued your fingers together so that your mother had to magick them apart..." She trailed off then shrugged again, smiling a bit. "You come up with alternative ways to do things without magic, simple as that."   


She pointed to a boy with a green badge on his robes. "James Cromwell. So which side do you think is better?"   


"Boy," Leah chuckled, "that's a loaded question if ever I heard one. Honestly, I don't think either one is better than the other. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages..."   


"What disadvantages do wizards have?" the same boy asked, a belligerent look on his face. Around him several others snickered softly.   


"Off the top of my head? Pride is a definite disadvantage," Leah countered. "Never underestimate a Muggle who has your number, who's caught onto your game. That's a problem with many wizarding folk, they take for granted that just because they have magic at their disposal they are automatically better than those who don't. You take away most wizards' wands and leave them alone in the Muggle world, unable to apparate or enjoy any perks that come with magic, and they wouldn't stand a chance."   


Leah pointed to another girl also wearing a green badge and scarf. "Star Pellerin," the girl said, a sarcastic note in her voice. "What advantages do Muggles have over us then? We've got memory charms, levitating spells, transfiguring capabilities and the like that your kind don't have."   


Bristling at the phrase but waving a now enraged Professor Shaw down, Leah said smoothly, "But you need a wand to do that. Take that away and all of you in this room are helpless. My mother taught me early on several ways to avoid being caught off guard by a witch or wizard's spells, some of which I may show you in future class sessions. The trick is to constantly keep your eyes open and alert for magical enemies, something the majority of Muggles cannot do because they don't know any better. That, and be quick on your feet; if the spell can't hit you then it can't work can it?   


"Now," she stated, briskly clapping her hands, "any more questions not pertaining to 'wizard versus muggle' arguments? I will happily debate the subject with anyone in private, but as this is a class on the Muggle world and not an opinion poll ... yes ma'am."   


Another girl, this one wearing a blue badge, stood. "Amanda Miller. Why is your last name different than Professor Collins'?"   


Leah's eyebrows went up. "A personal question," she replied, but was glad to get out of the combative debate. "Because, to be honest, she's not my real mother. My parents were killed when I was young by...well, and Haley adopted me soon afterwards." Nobody seemed to notice her glossing over any details, for which she was relieved. "She'd always been friends with my family even with them being Muggles and didn't know the truth about her. It was also difficult for her to adopt because I was so obviously a Muggle. Yes, sir."   


"Oscar Stanton. You said you just graduated from college? What is the school system like with Muggles?"   


"A very good question, Mister Stanton," Leah said, smiling at the Hufflepuff and launching into a mini-lecture about muggle school systems in America. Several, she saw, were taking notes on what she said but Leah also saw that a few students were also eying her with obvious distaste.   


That nearly all of these wore green badges didn't escape her notice.   


* * *

  


"Well, Professor Snape? Mind telling me where you have been?"   


"If you will excuse me," Snape all but snarled, but Haley again wouldn't let him pass. The potions professor was of the sudden mindset to simply transport her far away, but he didn't think Dumbledore would highly approve of that.   


"I'd just like to know where a fellow teacher went off to for the past several hours," Haley said innocently even as her eyes narrowed. "Interrupting your class, sending the students packing mid-lesson..."   


"It is none of your business," Snape hissed, again attempting to move past the witch. He could feel the stress of the situation starting to get to him, and he needed to see Dumbledore.   


"It is my business," Haley hissed back, getting right up in his face and again blocking his way in the narrow hall, "if it is harming this school or any of its inhabitants. Especially," she added in a lower voice, her gaze boring into his, "in light of recent events that seem connected to your own dubious past."   


"I assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about," Snape replied drolly, meeting her glare with a faintly sardonic expression.   


"Oh," Haley asked, again all innocent, "does this mean you've forgotten your stint as a Death Eater?"   


Snape's expression became one of martyred tolerance and he rolled his eyes. "I have no time," he stated cynically, "for yet another self righteous do-gooder to throw alleged past sins in my face, Ms. Collins. Now, if you will excuse me..." He pointed his wand, hidden previously beneath his robes, at the ground. "Affixio."   


"I don't..." Haley's mouth clamped shut and she blinked, seeming to stumble suddenly. Her feet didn't budge budge however and she glared furiously at Snape as he swept past her.   


"Pleasure chatting with you Professor," he murmured, and moved down the hall towards Dumbledore's office.   


"I'm watching you Snape," she called after him, and fumed as he simply waved his hand negligently in the air, not even pausing. "Numbnut," she muttered, using one of her daughter's favorite muggle phrases while fishing through her robes for her wand and the countercurse.   


Snape, for his part, felt a headache coming on. Another year with a DADA teacher dodging his footsteps, questioning his every move. This on top of everything else; the year was not shaping up to be particularly favorable.   


* * *

  


Dumbledore was silent when Snape finished his report. The Headmaster sat brooding in his chair, clearly deep in thought. Snape stood silently before the desk, his report finished and awaited any further questions or instructions.   


At long last the Headmaster gave a deep sigh and looked up at Snape. "So... Karkaroff is dead."   


Snape didn't reply; the statement was rhetorical - Dumbledore was simply thinking aloud. The Headmaster knew the answer anyway; Snape hadn't spared any details.   


"I imagine that, sometime soon, his body will be found with the Dark Mark blazing in the sky above," Dumbledore mused, a soft pang in his voice and again Snape stayed silent. After a moment the Headmaster turned his attention again to Snape. "Was there anything else he did, any other forms of sorcery?"   


Snape had wondered when Dumbledore would mention that. That Voldemort could do wandless magic, or sorcery, was probably not something that would pass by the astute old man. "Other than levitate Karkaroff to his side and the manner of death, there was nothing. He has grown stronger since fourteen years ago, however," he couldn't help but adding, and Dumbledore nodded.   


"Yes, I was afraid of that..." He trailed off, then seemed to shake himself out of his reverie. "Is there anything else that went on, Severus, that you believe I should know about?"   


Snape's jaw clenched, but not in anger over the question. Always before, when he had come to Dumbledore, the Headmaster had given him a small out, a way to keep something secret. In the beginning Snape had believed Dumbledore did it to trick him, as if the Headmaster already knew everything and waited for Snape to lie and therefore be thrown into Azkaban. It had taken a while before the Potions professor realized, it wasn't that Dumbledore didn't trust him - quite the opposite in fact: the Headmaster trusted Snape to tell the parts he deemed important, and leave private what needed to be private.   


He debated, really debated, about telling Dumbledore what had gone on after the meeting. Snape knew his pause told Dumbledore there was more, but the Headmaster wouldn't push Snape for information. With some, this classic reverse psychology may have resulted in all the truth being blurted out but as Snape himself used, and had essentially perfected, the technique he was immune to it.   


Mostly... which was where the dilemma lay.   


Making his decision, Snape resolutely shook his head - the last bit had been private and had revealed no pertinent information. Dumbledore nodded and returned back to his thoughts.   


Snape was about to leave when Dumbledore's voice stopped him. "Professor, what do you think of our newest Defense teacher?"   


The potions master paused in the door way. Lip curling in disgust, Snape slanted the Headmaster a look. "She may prove to be a problem later," he muttered. "A nosy, overprotective busybody with a Muggle daughter ... do you know the daughter announced herself as such to a room of Slytherins? She'll need watching over, mark my words." He paused a moment, eyes flickering to the fire, then added very reluctantly, "But the Collins woman seems to know what she's about. Threatened me about my past just a little while ago, actually." How beautifully ironic, he added privately.   


"Why Severus," Dumbledore exclaimed, a teasing note in his aged voice, "I do believe that is the nicest thing I've heard you say about a Defense teacher in a long time."   


Snape snorted derisively. "Considering what we've been forced to put up with in recent years, anyone who knows at least an inkling about what they're about is a marked improvement." He inclined his head respectfully, and swept out of the office.   


Down in the main hall he made sure nobody was around, then made his way back to the dungeons. As he walked, he wondered if perhaps he should have told Dumbledore that Karkaroff had named Snape as a spy. He even paused in the hallway, deliberating about going back to the Headmaster with the information, then resumed walking to the dungeons. It was his own problem, he would deal with it. The Headmaster had enough to worry about anyway to add fretting over a spy, especially when Snape was sure he could handle it on his own. He'd done it before, he could do it again.   


* * *

  


"So, how was your first day as a teacher?"   


Leah shrugged. "Okay," she replied, busily organizing the wardrobes.   


Haley's eyebrow lifted. "'Okay'," she repeated sardonically, earning an annoyed look from Leah. "So is teaching such an easy profession now? Am I 'copping out' by coming here, eh?"   


"I'm not going to allow you any 'I told you so' comments," Leah replied dryly, staring intently into the closet. Her face suddenly brightened and she turned around, pulling out a shirt and pants from the closet. "Well," she asked Haley, putting the clothes up next to her body, "what do you think?"   


Eying the tie-dyed shirt and polyester pants incredulously, Haley replied, "Um, yikes?"   


  


* * *

  


A/N: And now, for the thanks on reviewers:  
Darkrose: Excellent point! I think I'll take your advice and change that. :)  
CrystalStarGuardian: I do hope you like how Star's portrayed. She'll get a bit more air-time, so we'll really get to know her. :)  
Zidler'sChick: Good song! Glad you like it.   
Blackletter: Excellent point about ch.2 (or three, as it's on FF.net). I hated that end, but it would have been a novel length chapter if I continued it. So abrupt, and not even all that special... *sigh*  
Sev's Girl: Glad you like it too! Hope this chapter answers your question. :D  


I've got chapters 1-9 mapped out, although it may end up I combine chapters if they're not long enough. I hope to get the next part out soon, time willing and Borders Books staying open (that's where I do most of my writing *g*). Cheers!!  



	5. Potions Apprentice

_I liked writing this chapter. It was actually supposed to be two parts, but I scrapped the last part when I noticed how long the dang thing had gotten; ten pages freehand writing, and that wasn't even including the next part. So, I scrapped the hypothetical 'next part' and just made this chapter four. :) A small note, the WWN stands for Wizard Wireless Network (I believe), which apparently JKR herself mentioned in an interview. I remember reading it in an interview somewhere, wish I had the actual address. :)   
_

A note to readers, I'm still revising the previous chapters as I get time so it might do good to look over those a bit too. Adding more descriptive stuff, trying to flesh out two-dimensional characters (including, IMO, my own OC's), etc. Not absolutely necessary, not much in the plot changes, but just a thought. And, as always, pretty please review!! Everyone can now review, so please do! :-)  


DISCLAIMER: This world, of course, belongs to JKRowling and Scholastic books. I'd suggest you read them to get a handle on the non-original characters, as I'm not going to give a whole lot of defining to them that JKR herself hasn't done already. Star Pellerin, also, doesn't belong to me; she's being inserted as a favor to CrystalStarGuardian, her originator. She's not an original member of the cast and if you want to know more about her (and don't mind slash because, well, that's all she's ever in! *g*) then go read about her from CSG's works here on FF.net. Cheers!   


  


* * *

  


CHAPTER FOUR   


  
Less than a week after his encounter with Voldemort Snape was again secluded in the dungeons when he heard someone knock. Annoyed, he ignored it but the knocking continued, echoing across the stone walls. Realizing the incessent tapping wouldn't stop until he answered, he barked out, "What!"   


The door creaked open and a head popped inside. "Professor Snape?" the newcomer asked, looking about and locating him before stepping inside the dungeons.   


Sighing loudly and resisting the urge to thrown down the ingredients in his hands, Snape glared at his visitor. "Shouldn't you be at dinner with your mother, Miss Stanhope?" he asked smoothly, his voice conveying both his annoyance and clear derision.   


Still standing at the doors, Leah raised her eyebrows. "Wow, you really are good at the insults," she commented, allowing the door to shut behind her. "I'd been warned, but..."   


"You haven't even gotten me started," he muttered, his expression growing darker as she made her way towards him. "What do you want?" he growled, hoping she'd be leaving soon.   


"No need to be so negative," Leah replied with a smile. "Maybe I just wanted to introduce myself properly." Her hand trailed along the edges of the tables as she passed them, silently coming to a stop across from the Potions professor. "No need to bite my head off," she added, gazing around the table between them. Interested, she reached out to examine one flask of ingredients before Snape, very casually, snatched it up.   


"If I really felt like 'biting your head off', Miss Stanhope," Snape replied coldly, "you'd be running away crying by now. If you truly wished to introduce yourself, then consider yourself introduced and see yourself out my door."   


Leah gave a longsuffering sigh, which only seemed to aggrevate the professor even more. She seemed to get the hint, however, and said reluctantly, "I heard that you were the head of Slytherin house, and I was wondering..."   


"If I could put and end to the pranks being played on you?" Snape finished smoothly, his tone faintly mocking. "It would have been better if you'd never told the students you were, as you Americans put it, 'magically challenged'. But, if you are unable to handle it then I suppose I can speak to them."   


Leah's eyes narrowed at the not-so-subtle insult, but she gave him a measuring look and replied, "I'd appreciate it." She didn't leave, however, and Snape felt his nerves fraying.   


"What are you working on?" she asked suddenly, looking interestedly in the cauldron set up between them.   


Snape's jaw clenched as he picked up the pestle and mortar, emptying the carefully measured amount of ribwort into the bowl and grinding it irritably. "Something I'm afraid you won't understand," he grit out, wondering if he'd have to tell the daft twit to leave him alone. She didn't seem to get any of his hints.   


"That's ribwort, isn't it?" she asked, examining (but not touching, Snape noticed; perhaps she wasn't as obtuse as he'd thought) the jar of leaves Snape had yet to close. She studied the other herbs and extracts, then glanced into the simmering cauldron. "It looks like an expectorant," she said thoughtfully, "but what is the jasmine supposed to be for? Unless, this isn't an expectorant but a diuretic..."   


Snape looked up, the pestle pausing its grinding. "You know a bit about potions?" he asked.   


Leah looked up, a flash of annoyance crossing her features as if she hadn't welcomed the interruption. "Yes, a little," she admitted, turning her attention back to the table. "Sort of a hobby really - the only part of the wizarding world I could appreciate." She picked up a small vial with a reddish powder inside, only to have Snape snatch it away.   


"These ingredients are not meant to be played with by amateurs," he stated, unstoppering the vial and adding a pinch of its contents to the brew he was working on.   


"I'll have you know," Leah stated heatedly, "that I am not simply an amateur. I suppose I haven't had the schooling in it you've had, but I'm good with potions. I even patterned my Muggle studies after it, sort of: my major in college was chemistry."   


"Indeed," Snape replied dryly, emptying the crushed herbs from the mortar into the cauldron; the mixture immediately began to fizz and pop. "Then tell me, what do I get if I take oleander extract and infuse it with ground poppy seeds?"   


"Which part of the oleander?" Leah shot back, taking up the challenge. "If it's the flower then you have the start of a powerful sleeping drug, one that could induce a coma with the tiniest amount applied, while the leaves could be used to produce a number of toxins."   


Snape raised his eyes, staring bemusedly into her determined eyes. Where had the little Muggle gotten her information? "Alright then, oleander leaf extract combined with powdered _vomica_, diluted twenty times."   


"A poison known as _Nux strychnos_," Leah answered hotly, "although at that dilution it would take nearly a tablespoon to render a normal person incapacitated. Undiluted, and with correctly potent herbs, a single drop in one hundred gallons could still be lethal with just a sip. First produced by an Indian herbalist by the name of Logan Shatil, whose protege used it to on his master and was condemned by the Indian Magic Council. The ingredients are strictly regulated because of this."   


Snape's gaze sharpened and he stared shredly at the woman before him. "Where did you learn all this?" he asked, his black eyes boring into her brown ones.   


"I told you," she replied, unnerved by his gaze but refusing to look away, "it was the only thing in the wizarding world I could really get into so I kind of latched onto it. My mom had a few books on the subject, but I got more of the info from the WWN and her friends' private libraries." She snorted, breaking eye contact to look at the table. "Many of them found it amusing that a Muggle like me read so much about things like that, so I guess it was just me being stubborn." She gave a small smile and a shrug, her gaze flitting to his before settling again on the cauldron. "At least, at first."   


"And then?" Snape asked, genuinely curious. Most students, indeed many adults, wouldn't be able to rattle off information like that totally unprepared; she knew her history.   


"Well, it was kind of cool," she replied, toying with the handle of an extra cauldron. "My mom humored me and bought me this potions set when I was around eleven. I got stuff from the garden and neighboring houses and brewed my own potions, experimenting with new recipes and the like. I ordered a few magical items, things I wouldn't normally run into in the Muggle world, or bought them with my allowance if ever we went to any wizarding areas. That's sort of how I got into chemistry too; the more I learned about that field, the more I wanted to know. Drove my lab teachers nuts in college; almost got caught a few times filching certain chemicals."   


"Really," Snape drawled, but was no longer in any hurry for the girl to leave. He'd heard about chemistry before but had never been able to sit with a muggle chemist before.   


Leah, now talking about something in which she revelled, didn't even notice Snape's tone. "Did you know, for example," she continued, "that if you add sodium bicarbonate to a mixture of Marjoram oil, Seneca milk, and Dragonsclaw you've got something that will immediately cause any succulent plant to up its production of water and oxygen by three times? Or that straight sodium added to Hauer's Draft will cause the reverse effect for the potion, making one actually begin to get horrible allergies instead of clearing them up."   


"And how did you learn all that?" Snape asked, careful to keep an eye on his cauldron while giving the woman his attention.   


"Psychology," Leah replied succinctly, and Snape's brow furrowed. "For one of my psychology classes," she explained, "we were given a rat to run mazes, do conditioning tests, etc. Well," and here she rolled her eyes innocently, "I used him as my guinea pig for a few potions. Almost lost him when my aging potion added too many years to his physical age; I had a doddering, about-to-die rat who couldn't get to his feet and a maze runthrough in eight hours with my Psych professor. I was up until late brewing the age-decreasing potion, just in time for that dumb rat to mess up my grade by not running the maze right."   


Snape quirked an eyebrow at the odd Muggle before him. He wondered if she knew she was rambling, then had the suspicion that was just how she talked. Still, it was nice having someone who understood where he came from at least a little bit, if even she seemed to be a ditz in other areas.   


"Anyway," Leah stated, waving her hand in the air, "that's why I wanted to meet you." Here she paused, looking slightly nervous. "I was wondering if, well, maybe you could teach me a bit more?"   


"Sounds like you're doing just fine on your own," Snape replied, idly sprinkling a bit of monksweed into the cauldron.   


The way he said the phrase, Leah couldn't tell whether it was a compliment or otherwise. She chose to accept it as a compliment and qualified her request. "It's just that I've never really gotten the basics down; I've mostly learned everything from books and haven't received any formal training. For all I know I could be doing things wrong, disposing of some potions incorrectly. Most books don't even have disposal instructions as they were meant for wizards and witches who could simply magick it away."   


"So you're asking me to teach you," Snape stated, applying two drops of liquified dianthus to the potion he was working on, still not loking at Leah. "What does your mother have to say about this?"   


"Oh, forget my mother," Leah exclaimed hotly, earning a glance from Snape. "If she's going to keep me here then I might as well take advantage of the opportunity."   


"I take it coming here wasn't your idea," Snape murmured, giving her a dry inquiring glance.   


"Not really," Leah admitted darkly, stuffing her hands into her robes. "She heard about everything that's been going on lately, and figured since I would never be able to defend myself adequately from any real magic attacks I'd be safer here with her."   


Snape's eyes, still focussed on the cauldron, narrowed as he took note of the quiet resentment in Leah's voice. Could it be the girl wished she could do magic, he mused silently, studying the cauldron's contents more intently than was called for. It made sense; if she really was raised in the magicking community, she would have spent her life being looked down on for being at best a Squib. It would also explain why she'd turned to potions, really the only thing magical that non-magic folk could participate in.   


"So anyway," Leah continued, leaning slightly over the table towards Snape, "would you be willing? I'd work around your schedule, come only on certains days, whatever." She turned on the puppy-dog eyes and looked up through her lashes. "Pretty please?"   


Snape wondered in disgust when he'd gotten so charitable: instead of being annoyed the act served rather to amuse him. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if he had found a potions enthusiast that was nuttier than Dunston Wilkes. "And what is to be my compensation, Miss Stanhope?" Snape asked, turning sardonic eyes up to hers. "Is there anything you can give me that would make it worth my time?"   


"How about some inside information on Muggle chemistry," Leah answered, the quickness of her reply making Snape wonder if she'd been planning on using this bargaining chip the whole time. "You can educate me a bit more on potions, and I'll let you have access to all my lab journals, chemistry notes, textbooks, and answer any questions you might have."   


"You have all this with you?" he asked dubiously, raising an eyebrow.   


Leah nodded. "Brought them all along for just this situation," she answered. "So...are you game?"   


Snape stared intently at the woman for several moments until she began to squirm. Quite frankly, he was interested in the idea, if for no other reason than to learn about this Muggle chemistry. It would be interesting to read her lab journals, provided they were thorough and detailed. Most of the books he had acquired on the subject had been written by wizards examining the logic behind the proceedures, not the actual concepts themselves.   


"Well?" Leah asked, uncertainty flickering across her face.   


Snape caught the look and, with a heavy sigh as if it was a tough decision he replied, "Yes, Miss Stanhope, I will teach you." As her eyes lit up happily, he added, "But there is something you'll need to do for me first."   


"Anything," Leah replied, grinning toothily.   


Snape raised an eyebrow at the reply; the girl really needed to learn to be careful what she promised. Extinguishing the flame beneath the cauldron, he picked up a small dropper lying on the table, sucked a small amount of the cauldron's contents inside of it, and carefully placed two drops of the greenish liquid onto a bite-sized cube of cheese sitting on the other side of the table. Picking up the plate, Snape offered its contents to the woman before him. "Eat this."   


Leah stared blankly at the piece of food then looked up at Snape. "What is it?" she asked dubiously, not making a move to pick it up.   


"A potion I've been working on for Madam Pomfrey," he replied smoothly. When she still didn't pick it up the potions master rolled his eyes. "If we're to be working together you're going to have to trust me a little bit."   


Anyone who had ever been a student in Professor Snape's class would have run away at that, but Leah brought her hand up and carefully picked up the cheese cube. With one last look at Snape she tentatively put the morsel into her mouth.   


And nearly spit it out an instant later. "Bloody hell," she choked, "that is the worst thing I have ever tasted!"   


Snape nodded sagely, giving the girl a superior look. "Yes, that particular cheese does take some getting used to," he admitted, setting the plate back down on the table. "The French, however, seem to consider it a delicacy."   


"You mean that was the _cheese_?" Leah blurted out incredulously. "People actually eat this stuff voluntarily?" Her face puckered in a grimace, she pushed the half-chewed bit to the back of her mouth and convulsively swallowed, suddenly desperate for a little water.   


"Yes," Snape murmured, studying the girl before him as she fanned her mouth desperately, "I was wondering what it would be this time." He pointed his wand and the cauldron topped over, pouring its contents into a funnel above a large glass flask. "How...amusing."   


Leah stopped her ministrations and glared narrowly at Snape. "What, is amusing?" she demanded, her nose still crinkled in disgust as her mouth worked to get rid of the taste of cheese.   


"The potion is designed to loosen up congestion in the lungs or nasal passageways," Snape explained, magically cleaning up the instruments he used. "Madam Pomfrey, however, disliked the side effects and asked me to try to develop an alternative with less, shall we say, conspicuous problems."   


"What sort of side effects?" Leah asked, searching her body for any differences.   


"This one usually stimulated the hair follicles to grow at an accellerated rate," Snape replied, enjoying the girl's horrified expression. "Boys would get beards as long as Dumbledore's overnight, and girls...well, let's just say it was an embarassment to be seen."   


Leah's hands went straight to her cheeks, feeling about frantically for any signs of stubble. Snape, for his part, couldn't remember when last he'd had this much fun; he still regularly made certain students taste their own potions, but even that wasn't quite as satisfying as a good mind game.   


"You needn't worry about a premature beard, Miss Stanhope," Snape said smoothly after a moment of enjoying Leah's frantic search. "I've remedied that, I think, although it now looks like the hair follicles are stimulated in a different way."   


"What do you mean a different..." Leah exclaimed, then broke off as a strand of hair, dislodged from the clip while she had been checking for differences in body structure, fell across her face. Leah's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she lifted a trembling hand to finger the lock, not wanting to believe what she was seeing.   


It was bright yellow.   


"I will expect you here two evenings from now," Snape started casually, only to be interrupted by a shriek of outrage. Irritated, Snape snapped, "Well, I'm sure you can pull it off much better than I can. Closer to your natural hair color, I presume."   


Considering the naturally darker color of Leah's hair, that phrase went over almost as well as the whole hair-changing-color incident.   


* * *

  


Some time later the sounds of soft laughter echoed from behind a statue in the main hall. Behind it several students, all with green badges on their robes, snickered at the yellow-haired woman storming down the hall, oblivious to all around her.   


"Looks like someone already got her tonight," Star Pellerin whispered. "Got her good too."   


"I'm sure it would be funnier if she had jellylegs to contend with," Draco murmured, sniggering as he fingered his wand.   


"Nah, you used that on her already," Pansy whispered. "What about if we..."   


"What if you all went up to your rooms," a silky voice said behind them, "and didn't force me to give more detentions."   


All five of the Slytherins jumped guiltily and whirled around, hearts racing. Crabbe and Goyle looked embarassed to be found out while Pansy, Draco, and Star all looked defiant.   


"We were having a little fun with the Muggle," Pansy said, then seemed to realize she was talking to a teacher about messing with another teacher and cringed. Draco and Star both gave the girl disgusted looks.   


"Yes, I gathered as much," Snape murmured, watching the still fuming yellow-haired woman disappear behind a corner before turning back to the students. "I would appreciate in the future if you ceased your little tricks."   


"Whatever you say Professor," Draco replied, exchanging amused looks with Star.   


"I'm not joking, Mr. Malfoy," the Professor stated sharply, and all smiles were wiped away by the authority in that voice. "Leave the Muggle alone from now on. She is considered to be a teacher now so deserves the respect. Besides," he added lazily, "I'm too busy to deal with detentions for members of my own House."   


Draco's brow furrowed at the order, clearly not liking it much, but he nodded as did his companions. Snape, seeing they understood, added, "Pass that around to the rest of our classmates," then swept past the confused Slytherins.   


  



End file.
